Amish Chairs and Their Imitators

RR inherited a chair with a four-post back. She was told by her grandmother that it was Amish, and she asked me if this was indeed its origin. Perhaps the form has some Shaker or Amish elements, but for the most part it falls into the category of Americana legacy furniture – what my mother called “Colonial-style” furniture, made in the 1950s. Twice in the history of Americana furniture was this style popular: in the late 19^th and early 20^th century it was made famous by furniture craftsman (and polymath) Wallace Nutting, and again in the mid-20^th century made famous by Colonial Revival furniture companies such as Ethan Allen; this chair falls into the second time period. 

RR… it is not Amish, because the key characteristic of 16^th– to 18^th-century Mennonite, Shaker, and Amish furniture is geometric plain lines, no veneers, late medieval-style mortise-and-tenon joinery, no metal hardware or hinges, and no particle board. Furthermore, to this day the primary woods used for this style of furniture are white oak, brown maple, cherry, elm, and walnut. RR’s chair, now that she has refinished it, appears to be pine or, at a stretch, poplar.

There would be no branding or craftsman’s signature, as these pieces were made for the community and not for mass-market appeal. And RR, you should know that a great Amish chair from the early 19^th century will set you back five figures or more. Amish 18^th century furniture in this style will cost even more, especially if it is from the “early schools” of Jonestown or Soup Hollow in Pennsylvania. Take a look at the delectable furniture offered by dealer Jeff Bridgman Antiques in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, for a taste of real Amish furniture.

Yes, RR, your chair is in a Shaker or Amish style because of the ladder back and the innovative “ears” – those flanges at the side of the head – which were the Amish version of the English and Early American wing chair. I have found such chairs as yours offered today for $1,150 on the website DutchCrafters, furniture advertised as being handcrafted in Pennsylvania, although the company itself is located in Sarasota, Florida. This furniture is definitely made for the legacy market, reproductions of older styles. Today’s legacy furniture companies capitalize on the reputation of both Amish and Shaker future as timeless, and superior as examples of handmade craftsmanship being illuminated by these one-of-a-kind pieces. However, although RR’s chair bears this legacy, it does not live up to this quality. Still, Amish legacy companies such as DutchCrafters offer Amish style and Mission style pieces, such as a large desk, for $6,500 and down.

Wing chairs, of which RR’s chair is a variation, originated with an unknown carpenter who designed a chair to sit in front of the fireplace, the only source of heat in a 17^th-century room, in order to retain heat around the head and protect it from drafts. In France, these chairs were called bergères à oreilles (“shepherdess with ears”). No one knows who first conceived the idea, but you will see wing chairs in their heyday during the 18^th century in leather, tapestry brocade, cotton upholstery, and eventually into the 20^th century in the most amazing modern versions, such as Danish Modern designer Arne Jacobsen’s Egg Chair. 

Today such chairs often have foam-density padded tie-on cushions. If this were an original 19^th-century Amish chair, made for an older relative or infirm individual, expect to see natural-fabric cushions with drop-in, loose, or tie-on adjustable forms stuffed with hay, horsehair, or cotton wadding. However, most Amish or Shaker chairs do not have cushions, and a joke goes: “Yes, you will feel that hard seat, but your wallet will be significantly flattened in your back pocket after the purchase of an original Amish or Shaker chair!”

Shaker and Amish chairs were first “discovered” and popularized in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, as the sparse and linear aesthetic blended nicely with the American Arts and Crafts furniture style, known here in California as Mission style. The second wave of rediscovery came in the mid-20^th century during the Colonial Revival period – think of Ethan Allen furniture. Our house was filled with the stuff.

I believe your chair was made by the Towne Square Company, which mass-produced these “quaint” legacy chairs in the 1950s. The value today is negligible; perhaps, lightly stained (no dark wood stain would be appropriate) and fitted with adjustable cushions, it would be valued at around $350. I wish I could report your grandmother was right, and you have a $5,000 chair, RR.